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Deinosuchus
Deinosuchus! The prehistoric alligator, that eat dinosaurs on a daily basis! Megalodon! The largest known shark, able to almost bite early whales in half! WHO....IS....DEADLIEST!?!?!? Description Deinosuchus ( /ˌdaɪnəˈsjuːkəs/ [[Wikipedia:Pronunciation respelling key|''dy-nə-'sew'-kəs'']]) is an extinct genus related to the alligator that lived 73 to 80 Ma (million years ago), during the late Cretaceous period. The name translates as "terrible crocodile" and is derived from the Greek deinos (δεινός), "terrible", and soukhos (σοῦχος), "crocodile". The first remains were discovered in North Carolina (United States) in the 1850s; the genus was named and described in 1909. Additional fragments were discovered in the 1940s and were later incorporated into an influential, though inaccurate, skull reconstruction at the American Museum of Natural History. Knowledge of Deinosuchus remains incomplete, but better cranial material found in recent years has expanded scientific understanding of this massive predator. Although Deinosuchus was far larger than any modern crocodile or alligator—measuring up to 12 m (39 ft) and weighing up to 8.5 metric tons (9.4 short tons)—in overall appearance it was fairly similar to its smaller relatives. It had large, robust teeth that were built for crushing, and its back was covered with thick hemispherical osteoderms. One study indicates that Deinosuchus may have lived for up to 50 years, growing at a rate similar to that of modern crocodilians, but maintaining this growth over a much longer period of time. Deinosuchus fossils have been found in ten U.S. states, including Texas, Montana, and many along the East Coast. Fossils have also been found in northern Mexico. It lived on both sides of the Western Interior Seaway, and was an opportunistic apex predator in the coastal regions of eastern North America. Deinosuchus reached its largest size in its western habitat, but the eastern populations were far more abundant. Opinion remains divided as to whether these two populations represent separate species. Deinosuchus was probably capable of killing and eating large dinosaurs. It may have also fed upon sea turtles, fish, and other aquatic and terrestrial prey. In 1954, Edwin H. Colbert and Roland T. Bird speculated that Deinosuchus "may very well have hunted and devoured some of the dinosaurs with which it was contemporaneous".[[|7]] Colbert restated this hypothesis more confidently in 1961: "Certainly this crocodile must have been a predator of dinosaurs; otherwise why would it have been so overwhelmingly gigantic? It hunted in the water where the giant theropods could not go."[[|22]][[|23]] David R. Schwimmer proposed in 2002 that several hadrosaurid tail vertebrae found near Big Bend National Park show evidence of Deinosuchus tooth marks, strengthening the hypothesis that Deinosuchus fed on dinosaurs in at least some instances.[[|4]] In 2003, Christopher A. Brochu did not find the tooth mark evidence to be compelling, but nonetheless agreed that Deinosuchus "probably dined on ornithopods from time to time."[[|24]] Deinosuchus is generally thought to have employed hunting tactics similar to those of modern crocodilians, ambushing dinosaurs and other terrestrial animals at the water's edge and then submerging them until they drowned.[[|25]] Schwimmer and G. Dent Williams proposed in 1996 that Deinosuchus may have preyed on marine turtles.[[|26]] Deinosuchus would probably have used the robust, flat teeth near the back of its jaws to crush the turtle shells.[[|4]] The "side-necked" sea turtle Bothremys was especially common in the eastern habitat of Deinosuchus, and several of its shells have been found with bite marks that were most likely inflicted by the giant crocodilian.[[|4]][[|26]] Schwimmer concluded in 2002 that the feeding patterns of Deinosuchus most likely varied by geographic location; the smaller Deinosuchus of eastern North America would have been opportunistic feeders in an ecological niche similar to that of the modern American alligator. They would have consumed marine turtles, large fish, and smaller dinosaurs.[[|3]] The bigger, but less common, Deinosuchus that lived in Texas and Montana might have been more specialized hunters, capturing and eating large dinosaurs.[[|3]] Schwimmer noted that no theropod dinosaurs in Deinosuchus's eastern range approached its size, indicating that the massive crocodilian could have been the region's apex predator. (info from Wikipedia) Battle against Megalodon TBA Category:Animals Category:North American Animals Category:Semi-aquatic animals Category:Carnivores Category:Reptiles Category:Water Animals Category:Ocean Animals Category:Crocodilians Category:Prehistoric animals